An attractive tale of infidelity set in the sun-soaked suburbs of Southern California
Strangers When We Meet was released by Columbia Picture on June 30, 1960 Director: Richard Quine
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Kim Novak, Ernie Kovaks, Barbara Rush, and Walter Matthau
Kirk Douglas has a demanding wife and Kim Novak has a neglectful husband (as if that’s even halfway plausible). And when the two of them cross paths, at the elementary school bus stop, infidelity ensues.
This is your typical “trouble in suburbia” piece with an A-list cast and crew that render an unremarkable, yet entertaining, 50s era soap opera. For the classic movie fan, it’s certainly worth at least one viewing. However, for the “Cpop sensitive” observer, it might be worth a second or even a third, primarily for the production values.
Though it could have easily been shot on the backlot (a much more common practice at the time for such a pedestrian presentation) it was actually shot on location in and around the Brentwood and Malibu areas of Los Angeles, and therefore, it provides us with a very unique look into the Cpop past.
Featured Califormulants
The mid-century treats featured during the film’s 117-minute running time include: the California Ranch styled Brentwood Market (we even get to go inside and see what a neighborhood market looked like in 1959).
The principals also pay a few visits to Malibu’s tiki enhanced Albatross restaurant, bar, and motor lodge, a very popular seaside attraction of the day.
The world-famous Romanoff’s Restaurant shows off a little of its own modernist flair, and a mid-century modern home is erected, in Belair, all between the opening and closing credits.
The set décor, depicting the living environs of the upper middle class, accurately reflect the mid-century modern/traditional blending that was so common at the time.
Bonus Tracks
Here’s the very sultry theme from Strangers When We Meet, by George Duning, as well as the accompanying trailer.
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